IF ... ... ...

 

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,

If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor, and

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

 

If you can do all these things, .......... Then You Are Probably the Family Dog...

It's too fast

 

I've been thinking about this logically. See if you agree with me.

The circumference of the Earth at the Equator, is just under 25,000 miles - let's call it 24,000 miles.

If I were to stand on the Equator facing East, (because the Earth turns from left to right - from West to East), then it would take a whole 24 hours for me to be back round to the same point where I started as the Earth revolves one revolution.

So in effect, if we divide 24,000 miles by 24 hours, we can say that by standing there facing East I am travelling at 1000 miles an hour; and my hat would blow off.

I have also calculated that over the years there have been about 120 billion people on this planet since as far back as my calculator can count. This does not include animals, birds, fishes and plants. Just people. All these people and creatures have not left Earth. When they die they are either buried or cremated but they do not leave the planet. 

So it follows, (according to my calculations), that the Earth is getting heavier and it should in fact slow down in its speed of revolutions. And the time will come when it will stop altogether. When this happens one side of the earth will be too hot facing the sun whilst the other side will freeze its pants off.

But right now, the Earth seems to be going faster not slower. Here's some proof:

Do you realise that COVID was about six years ago? It hardly seems like yesterday!

Look at other world events - count how long ago they happened and then wonder how time flies and how fast the world is going round.

Think about that new dress you just bought. It is out of fashion before you have worn it twice.

And the garden gate and fence need painting again. It hardly seems two years since you last painted them. 

We are already through two months of the New Year and Christmas only ten months away.

No sooner does one week start than it is already over.  

I asked a zoologist friend of mine who specialises in the digestive system of cockroaches to explain it all to me. 

He said that this is because with social media and so many means of communications too many things are happening on the globe at the same time. In the Olden Days when people had no communications the only change they had was the traffic lights going from red to green. Those with no traffic lights had no change at all in their lives. 

These days with 24/7 communications there is something happening all the time somewhere on the planet and it is on all the NEWS media instantly even before it happens.

Note how Australians celebrate the New Year before everyone else. This did not happen in Olden Days because we had no radios and TVs to watch it happening.

So because too many things are happening at once all the time, then time itself is moving faster to accommodate all these things happening.

Think about this logic again:

Because too many things are happening at once all the time, then time itself is moving faster to accommodate all these things happening. 

So slow down. Don't have fast foods. Try a casserole that takes ages to cook. And don't tell us about it or anyone else. The less news we share the slower life gets, (or seems to). 

Go back to the days when you had to get off your chair to change the channels on your TV. Or better still; take your TV with you in bed.

Or take your pet with you in bed. 

I did that once. I took my pet to bed with me. The next morning the bed was soaking wet and my goldfish died.

End of Times (Part 2)

 

Recently I wrote about a pastor on TV discussing "End of Times" theory. See HERE.

I have discussed this with my friend Father Francis Maple. This is what he said:

Thank you for such a thoughtful and important question. It is one that many Catholics quietly wonder about.

 

First, let me gently say that what you heard on television — the Rapture, a seven-year Tribulation, a political Antichrist ruling the world, a literal thousand-year earthly reign of Christ — is not the way the Catholic Church understands the Book of Revelation.

Let me try to answer your “WHY?” step by step.

 

1. Why not the Rapture and Millennium scenario?

The Book of Revelation is written in apocalyptic language — symbolic, poetic, full of imagery. It is not meant as a chronological newspaper forecast of future events.

The Church teaches:

• There is no secret Rapture.
• There is no literal political 1,000-year earthly reign of Christ.
• The “millennium” (Revelation 20) symbolically refers to the present age of the Church — the time between Christ’s Resurrection and His Second Coming.

Christ will return once, publicly and gloriously.
There will be:

• The resurrection of the dead
• The General (Final) Judgement
• The renewal of creation

That is all.

So your instinct is correct: the Catholic understanding is indeed simpler — and deeper.

---

2. Particular Judgement and Final Judgement — Why Both?

You have stated Catholic teaching beautifully.

At death:

• The soul undergoes Particular Judgement.
• Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell.

At the end of time:

• The body is raised.
• There is a General Judgement.

Now your question: Why a General Judgement if we are already judged?

Because salvation is not merely private.

Our lives affect others.
Our sins affect others.
Our hidden goodness affects others.

At the Final Judgement:

• God’s justice will be publicly revealed.
• The full truth of every life will be shown.
• The hidden workings of grace will be made known.

It is not to re-judge us.
It is to reveal the glory of God's justice and mercy before all creation.

---

3. Why Do We Need New Bodies?

This is the most beautiful part.

We are not angels.

Angels are pure spirits.
Human beings are body and soul together.

God did not create us as souls trapped in bodies.
He created us as embodied persons.

Death is unnatural. It tears apart what God joined.

Resurrection is God repairing what death destroyed.

Christ rose bodily.
He ate fish.
He showed His wounds.
He could be touched.
Yet He was glorified.

Our risen bodies will be like His.

Not subject to:

• Suffering
• Decay
• Death

But fully alive.

---

4. What Will We “Do” in Heaven?

We must be careful here.

Heaven is not:

• An eternal picnic
• Nor clouds and harps
• Nor endless church services

Heaven is the Beatific Vision — seeing God face to face.

Scripture speaks of:

• A “new heaven and a new earth”
• A wedding feast
• A city
• Joy
• Communion

Will we “eat”? We won’t need to.  We will be fully alive persons.

---

5. Why Does God Do It This Way?

Because God does not abandon creation.

He redeems it.

If salvation were only about souls escaping earth, then creation would be a failure.

Instead:

• Creation is fulfilled.
• The body is restored.
• History is brought to completion.
• Justice is revealed.
• Love triumphs.

It is not a complicated divine drama for its own sake.

It is the completion of a love story.

---

6. One Final Clarification

You wrote:

“Peter and the rest of the Apostles and Saints… are souls in Heaven.”

Yes — but they are incomplete in one sense.

They await the resurrection of the body.

Even the saints are waiting for the fullness.

That is how important the body is.

---

In Summary

The Catholic view is:

• No secret Rapture.
• No earthly political millennium.
• One Second Coming.
• Resurrection of the body.
• Final Judgement.
• New creation.

And the “WHY?” is this:

Because God saves the whole person.
Because justice must be revealed.
Because creation is meant for glory.
Because love finishes what it begins.

You are right — the Catholic vision is simpler.

And in my view, far more beautiful.

God bless,

Fr. Francis

I hope this helps.  

End of times

 

I would appreciate your views on this please.

There was a preacher on TV talking about the End of Times as described in the book of Revelations in the Bible. He talked about the Rapture first - that's when some people will be "taken away" (to Heaven) and some will remain. Then he described seven years of Tribulations. These will be bad times when a leader will arise (the Anti-Christ) who will rule the world harshly and lead people away from God. Then there will be the Battle of Armageddon when Christ will return and fight evil and Jesus will be victorious. There will then follow 1000 years (the Millenium) when Christ will rule the world and then the Final Judgement with a new Heaven and a new Earth.

I think I have understood all this according to what the TV preacher said.

My question is: WHY?

Why is God going through all this - the Rapture, Seven years of Tribulations, Armageddon, and the Millenium and finally the Final Judgement? Have we perhaps misunderstood the book of Revelations and the book of Daniel where all this is predicted?

Here is what the Catholic Church (my Church) teaches:

The moment you die your Particular Judgement takes place. 

It is then decided by God if you will go straight to Heaven or spend time in Purgatory or you will go straight to Hell.

No one can say that when someone dies they are in Heaven. 

Only God knows that. 

You may think that a good person is in Heaven, but you may be wrong.

The Final Judgement takes place at the end of the world when God will divide the sheep from the goats.

Our Particular Judgement takes place the moment we die but there is the General Final Judgement for all at the end of time.

When resurrected we will have new bodies.

Peter and the rest of the Apostles and Saints, and all the "good" people who have departed before us, are souls in Heaven.

They have to wait until the end of the world before they have their resurrected bodies. 

This to me seems a much simpler outcome. We die, we are judged, and we go where we are meant to go. Although I always have some difficulty with the bit about when we are resurrected we'll have new bodies.

Again, my question is: WHY?

Why do we need new bodies in Heaven? Will we eat and drink, and walk, and dance, and go to the beach, and so on? Angels and Saints do not have bodies, (do they?) They are souls!

Anyway, over to you. What do you think about the End of Times as described by this TV preacher? What is taught in your Church or by your pastor? 

Joy in the Lord

 

FATHER FRANCIS MAPLE

LINK TO HIS WEBSITE HERE 

 

.

 

If there’s joy in the Lord let it show my friends

Don’t keep it all to yourself

Don’t ever worry what the crowd might say

Don’t put the Lord on a shelf

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

It’s a sad old world and we’ve got a lot of cares

In debt out of work and we’re scared

But we should be brave for He comes to save

So let’s all spread the happy Word

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Now the roof sprung a leak and the rains come through

The outlook is as bad as you have known

Well it could be worse and remember this

You don’t bear the burden all alone

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

You’re getting older now and the wrinkles show

Does it matter if you’re beautiful within?

Learn to smile and pray

As you grow old and grey

And lean a little more on Him

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

Bring Him down take Him round let the joy shine through

How can you fail when the Lord’s with you?

At the Hospital

I went to hospital for a check-up to see if my sense of humour was still intact. Whilst there I overheard many medical staff discussing things using words that made no sense to ordinary people like you and me. Medics seem to have a language all their own. To help you, I have compiled a small list of words and their meanings:

Antibody                   =       Against everyone

Artery                       =       The study of fine paintings

Barium                      =       What you do when CPR fails

Benign                      =       What you are after you are eight

Bowels                     =       Letters like A, E, I, O, U

Caesarean Section    =       A district in Rome

Cardiology               =       Advanced study of poker playing

Cat-scan                  =       Searching for lost Kitty

Cauterize                =       Made eye contact with her

Colic                       =       A sheepdog

Coma                      =       A punctuation mark

Cortizone               =       The local court house

Dilate                     =       To live longer

Fester                     =       Quicker

Genes                    =       Blue denims

I C U                    =       Peek a boo

Impotent               =       Distinguished or well known

Medical staff        =       A doctor’s cane

Morbid                 =       A higher offer

Outpatient            =       A person that has fainted

Post-Operative     =       A letter carrier

Recovery room    =       Place to upholster furniture

Red blood count  =       Dracula

Saline                  =       A boat trip on holiday

Tablet                 =       A small table

Tibia                  =       Country in North Africa

Urine                =       Opposite of you’re out

Varicose           =       Way to close

Vein                 =       Conceited

Time waits for no man... or woman.

 

 

I normally post my articles here at about 8:00am in the morning. The time stamp at the end of my post shows 00.00 (midnight) Pacific Time - Los Angeles.

 

This means that whilst it is well into another day over here and I've already had my breakfast, my readers in Los Angeles are probably still in bed and about to start another day. I am sorry to wake you up every time I post an article.

 

I also realise that for those of you living on the East Coast it will be 3:00am and you too are probably in bed. (Have I got this right?) I can only guess what time it is for the rest of you living in the USA.

 

But I am told that those of you in Australia have already had the day which I am about to start after breakfast writing my Blog post. In your case, you have already read my post before I write it. How can this be possible? How is it that you read my posts before I write them because you are always a day ahead?

 

My scientist friend tells me that if I fly from London to America I don't need to shave because as I am flying, America is also coming towards me because the earth turns from left to right.

So the journey is much shorter flying towards America. Apparently, when we had a plane called Concorde which flew faster than the speed of sound, people arrived in America before they left London Airport. 
   

However, when you fly from America to London the journey is much longer because London is moving away from you as you try to catch up with it. By the time you get to London you'll trip over your beard judging by how long it grew. So you're advised to shave on the plane. 

 

Life gets even more complicated when we change the clocks backwards and forwards every Autumn and Spring, with some countries taking part and others not; and those who take part change their times at different dates than other countries.

 

Apparently there is no real reason or need to change the clocks backwards and forwards. It is only done to annoy people and to get them to talk about something on their Blogs.

 

And another thing, when it comes to celebrations like Mothers' Day, and Fathers' Day, different countries celebrate at different dates. And some people have introduced celebrations that others have not; like Hamburger Day - whenever that is.

 

Whilst we all agree when Christmas is; we do not seem to agree about Easter and some Churches celebrate it at different times.

 

And although we all agree as to when to celebrate the New Year, the Australians once again celebrate it before any of us and have already written Blogs about it before I've had my breakfast.

 

I find this all confusing, even more so since some of you, I have noticed, do not show the date when comments are made on your posts. All you show is the time. So I don't know whether the comments I have just read from your readers has been made before or after I have written my comment. Do I comment on what someone else has said or not? Because strictly speaking, he may not yet have commented and my comment on his comment would be redundant.

 

Biblically, it is said that to God one day is like a thousand years. He does not have time zones.

 

Which must have been very confusing to poor Moses when summoned up the mountain to get the Ten Commandments. Did he go the following day, or in a thousand years time? 

 

And was it just Ten Commandments or did he lose some on his way down?

 

What do you think?

It is now Lent

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent - traditionally people give up something for Lent. It could be chocolates, drinks, entertainment or something similar.

For Lent I am giving up caring.

What's the use of caring? 

What is the point of shaving and trimming my beard every day? It grows back again in a few days.

What's the use of wearing clean close every day? They get dirty again soon enough.   

What's the use of vacuum cleaning every day? The house gets dirty again in a few minutes. Now the vacuum cleaner stands in the corner gathering dust by itself. 

What is the point of watching the News on TV and getting upset at what's happening in the world? I can't control anything anyway.

So I decided to stop caring altogether about everything.

Other things I will not care about are whisky, chocolates and cookies and cakes and other goodies I like.

I'll give the money I saved to The Salvation Army, because I care about them and the work they do.

Trust Ahoy!

 

The Disciples were on a boat a distance from the land, buffeted by the waves because of the wind. They saw Jesus walking on water coming towards them. Peter asks Him, “tell me to come to you on the water.” Moments later Peter panics and begins to sink, and Jesus saves him. (Matthew 14:22-33 The story of Jesus walking on water is retold in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John.)

We often criticise Peter's lack of faith; but how about the other Disciples? They did not trust Jesus at all did they?

When I worked for a large multi-national we often had "team-building" events. I hated them. On one occasion they asked us to stand on a box and lean back so that someone behind us would catch us from falling. I declined to take part. The man behind me was small and a weakling and I thought I'd flatten him if I fell on him. There's no way he would catch me. The organisers said I was no "team-player"; they decided I had leadership potential instead.

How about you? Would you have trusted someone to catch you? 

When things go wrong in life, for you or for someone you love, do you trust God enough to take care of the situation? Or do you blame Him for things going wrong and not taking care of you?

I don't want to pontificate about this. I've had several things go really wrong in my life and at the time I focussed more on the bad thing than thinking about God. I just wanted to get through the event, whatever the outcome, rather than trust in God. Suddenly, He did not feature in my thinking. I forgot about Him.

Someone told me that when we're in real difficulties and we pray to God, it is not necessarily a sign of despair, but a testament to our faith. We pray because we believe there's Someone listening and we're not just talking to ourselves.

The thing is, do we pray with full confidence that He will answer our prayers, or do we doubt He will answer the way we would wish things to be.

Do we trust God totally - or with conditions?

It is no point having faith in a Master who walks on water if we do not trust Him enough to follow Him.

Valentine's Day

 

.

 

She stood on the bridge at midnight
Her heart was all a quiver
She gave a little cough
And her wig fell down the river 

 

 

Rose's are red

Violet's are blue

Enid's are green

And Sophie's are pink with white dots

 

 (I've seen them on the washing line)

 

 

A certain young lady named Lilly
Likes knickers - light pink and frilly.
In winter she wears
Maybe three or four pairs,
To keep her from feeling too chilly.

 

 

Say it with flowers

And chocolates too

Say it with jewellery

Or a good meal for two

Say it from the heart

Say what you think

But never be careless

And say it with ink 

 

 

LOVE IS ...

Helping your wife change the tires and the oil in the car ...

LOVE IS ...

Putting on the subtitles on TV whilst she's talking ...

LOVE IS ...

Not forgetting to pick up some flowers from a grave on the way home from work ...

LOVE IS ...

Saying sorry when you don't even know what you're apologising for ...

LOVE IS ...

Pretending to like her mom and not hide her broomstick when she lands unexpectedly ...

LOVE IS ...

Reminding her not to vacuum clean the house when football is on TV ...

LOVE IS ...

Laminating a card with the words "I love you" so she can read it when in need of reassurance ...

LOVE IS ...

Eating that last piece of pizza to save her from getting fat ...

LOVE IS ...

Knowing left from right when she gives you directions when driving ...

LOVE IS ...

When she looks at a dress or coat in a catalogue and says, "I like that!" to cut the photo and give it to her ...

 

LOVE IS ...

If it's a choice between a new pair of shoes or a box of chocolates, buy her a pair of shoes made of chocolate ...

LOVE IS ...

Not saying her backside looks big no matter what dress she's wearing ...

 

Role Model

 

Whether you like it or not we are all role models.

There is always someone watching us and ready to copy what we do. It could be our children, grand-children, relatives, friends, colleagues or even neighbours or people we do not know. 

We really cannot help being a role model. It is not up to us.

What is up to us is whether we are a good or a bad role model.

Do we set a good example by the way we live, what we say, how we behave and how others see us?

Are we the life and soul of the party, or do we brighten up the place by just leaving it?

When we are dead and gone will people talk about who we were or what we have done? 

Consider this: Years ago, if you were a Christian people would respect you perhaps, or be polite to you; even if they did not agree with your beliefs. Today, they would most probably ridicule you behind your back and think you're a bit weird in believing in an old man with a beard sitting on a cloud trying to oversee the world.  

Being a role model carries a lot of responsibility. Have we by our example led other people to an eternity in Paradise ... or to the other place?

And here is the real test: If you were another person watching you, would you want to copy what you are doing in life and the way you live?